Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley has revealed his ‘preferred’ Super League Magic Weekend venue ahead of his side’s visit to Newcastle to take on Hull KR, a team that Rowley has showered in praise for their rebuild since relegation.
That relegation came at the hands of Salford in that memorable ‘Million Pound Game’ with a Gareth O’Brien drop goal securing Salford’s safety and demoting the Robins to the second tier.
Like Wakefield Trinity did last year, Hull KR spent just one year in the Championship as they immediately bounced back and that has seemingly acted as a springboard for the club who are now established as one of the top contenders in Super League, making them a daunting proposition for Salford this Magic Weekend.
The sides faced off in Round Three at Craven Park with Hull KR winning 42-0 despite the absence of star man Mikey Lewis and with Salford playing on an unlimited salary cap, meaning the likes of Marc Sneyd, Tim Lafai, Kallum Watkins, Deon Cross, Brad Singleton and Chris Atkin, all of whom have since left, all played.
Rowley has admitted that even with the neural fans at St James Park sure to be cheering his side on, it will take a lot to overcome the Robins as he explained: “They’d have to be pretty noisy to out-sing the other Hull KR fans because in my experience they’re as good as you get. I think we’ll just enjoy the support of our fans who will be there and if the neutrals can cheer us on then obviously it will be welcome.
“I think if we’re getting down to that point where (neutral support) is giving us the fine margin of a win then I’ll be happy. Our job is the same whatever happens.”
Rowley names ‘preferred’ Super League Magic Weekend venue ahead of Hull KR clash
Ethan Ryan, Chris Hankinson and Matty Foster all return to our squad for #MagicWKND! 💪
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— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) May 1, 2025
Rowley was also asked about his favourite Magic Weekend venue with the event returning to Newcastle this year after a year at Elland Road and the Salford head coach picked out a local stadium for Super League to potentially return to in future.
He responded: “I don’t mind going to Newcastle. Obviously, if you were going to ask me my preferred option then I would come to Manchester because I’m living in Manchester but I enjoyed Magic at the Etihad, I thought that was really good. So that’s my preference but I certainly enjoy Newcastle and our visit to Newcastle.”
The Red Devils’ trip to Newcastle this Magic Weekend is expected by many to end in a heavy defeat given that Hull KR are the current Super League leaders and have already dispatched Salford once this season. With a Challenge Cup semi-final on the horizon, Rowley was asked if he expects Willie Peters to rest players.
“Whatever team Hull KR play, they’ll be very strong,” Rowley responded, adding: “They’re not a team that generally goes from within the core squad. You saw that last week with Batchelor playing on the edges there. They trust the players that play week in, week out.”
Are Hull KR a ‘blueprint’ for Salford Red Devils?
Rowley also commented on the Robins’ return to and ascent towards the top of Super League and whether Salford would take inspiration and/or use the Hull club as a blueprint when they bounce back from their own financial issues.
He explained: “They’re a great team up who have been building nicely as a club and as a team for the last few years obviously. They did it tough and they had kind of a reset and they’ve been going great so it’s certainly a difficult game and like I said, whoever plays, and I expect them all to play, will be tough opposition.”
On KR being a ‘blueprint’, he added: “Themselves and Leigh, there’s a lot of clubs. When you get relegated or you’re down at the bottom, you either go down or up, but to go up is incredibly difficult and you need finance and I think probably the biggest change at Hull KR has been the financial situation and off the field they’ve got a strong board and finance to back it as well.
“That enables them to build an infrastructure at the club and invest in their on-field products. Obviously their support base was already there and that’s just going to grow and get better and better with the successes that they’re having. So, absolute respect for them as a club, for fighting tooth and nail to get what they’ve got.”
